Cat Trapping to Protect Plovers Raises Concern of Pet Rescue Group

Biologists working to protect the Island’s fragile piping plover population have turned their attention to a primary predator: cats, both feral and domestic.

Wildlife biologist Luanne Johnson has been setting traps in two locations this spring as a response to piping plover mortality during last year's nesting season. In at least three of the shorebird deaths, cats were found to be responsible.

At Cedar Tree Neck, a cat killed an adult male in 2013, leaving his mate to care for their four chicks. The chicks died soon after.

“The female couldn’t care for them all alone,” said Adam Moore, executive director of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, which owns Cedar Tree Neck and contracts with Ms. Johnson’s nonprofit, Biodiversity Works, to monitor their plover population. Ms. Johnson has also set traps on private property in Aquinnah.

The death of adult piping plovers poses a significant threat to the bird population, Ms. Johnson said.

“As a population, the most valuable part is the breeding adult birds,” she said. These birds have reached many difficult milestones, from egg to chick, chick to fledgling, and have migrated back safely from their winter spot, she said.

The piping plover is listed as a threatened species. In 1993, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service set a goal to reach 2,000 breeding pairs along the Atlantic Coast.

In order to reach that goal, predation threatening the shore birds must be minimized, Ms. Johnson said.

Each year, about 50 plover pairs make their nests on Martha’s Vineyard.

Besides cats, the other predator that takes adult predators are raptors, including the migratory falcon, the merlin and the northern harrier.

But those predation events are very infrequent, Ms. Johnson said.

More often, it is the cat, a nonnative mammal, that hunts the plovers.

Ms. Johnson uses Havahart traps, which she says are humane and provide food, bedding and cover for animals trapped inside.

So far she has trapped three cats this season, she said. In each case, she involved the town animal control officer and made efforts to locate any possible owner.

In one case, the cat was taken to Boston for spaying, but was returned to the Island.

Ms. Johnson said the cats appeared to be feral, but residents should know to keep their domestic cats away from shorebird habitat.

“If your cat is documented killing piping plovers, they are responsible under the Endangered Species Act,” she said. She said it is advisable to attach a safe breakaway collar to all cats.

The issue ignited a flurry of posts and heated debate on Facebook, including on the Facebook group “MV Helping Animals.”

Kym Cyr, a cat lover who runs Martha’s Vineyard Helping Homeless Animals, said she doesn’t object to the idea of protecting the birds but can’t support taking cats away from their homes, especially to a far-off shelter like Boston, where they could be euthanized.

“My only concern is that these animals belong to somebody, whether they are feral or they are not,” she said. She said for some cats, a cat colony is their home. “Whether we approve of that being their home or not, that is their home,” she said. “To take them away, it really seems unfair.”

Of the three cats trapped by Ms. Johnson, one has been returned to its owner. Ms. Cyr has the other two at her house in Oak Bluffs, where she boards more than 20 cats.

She said she knew of a gentleman who runs a cat colony near Cedar Tree Neck, but didn’t know his name. If she did, she said she would go in and make sure the cats were spayed and neutered.

“It’s just unfair to think it’s a competition between the birds and the cats,” she said. “I hope we can reach a happy medium between the cats and the birds. I can’t say the cats are more important than the birds and I can’t say the birds are more important than the cats.”

Ms. Cyr said she held one of the Cedar Tree Neck cats on her lap as she spoke. She described herself as a voice for the cats and the dogs.

“I feel strongly that the cats have had an injustice here,” she said.

She said she had not relayed her concerns directly to Ms. Johnson.

“The way I live my life is if I know I can change something, I will go forward with it,” she explained. “If I don’t think it is going to be changed, I don’t waste my time with it.”

Comments (4)

BIODIVERSITYWORKS

For clarification, the cat returned to its "owner" was a free-ranging, semi-feral cat that was part of a colony in Aquinnah near a plover nesting beach. We learned this after it was returned to the Island. After it was captured, it was cared for by two cat lovers for 5 days while we circulated photos around Aquinnah, posted notices, and shared photos with the Animal Control officer. No one claimed the cat. No shelter on the island currently accepts feral cats,so it went to the MSPCA at Angell Memorial. The two West Tisbury cats were boarded for 10 days at a veterinary office while we placed posters with photos around West Tisbury. The Animal Control Officer visited them several times and did not believe they were pets. A kind-hearted person, took custody of them and paid for their veterinary care at the end of 10 days, and they are now in the care of Ms. Cyr and her organization, which is dedicated to cats, dogs, and other pet animals.

Here is the other side of the story that the newspapers did not bother to look into. Both papers were given this information regarding an alternative to trapping the cat. It's a ultra sonic device that deters cats. Please read:
Alley Cat Allies
Hello Kym,
My name is Kylie and I am with Alley Cat Allies' National Cat Help Desk. Your recent Facebook post about an individual on Martha's Vineyard trapping cats and sending them to shelter was shared with us and I wanted to reach out to offer our support and guidance in this situation.
I'm so sorry to hear this community members has decided to trap the cats rather than seek humane solutions to this situation but wanted to thank you for your dedication to helping cats in this community. We know that trapping cats to "save the birds" is both inhumane and ineffective. To help in situations like these, we have some great materials that can be used to educate community members about why the cat vs. bird debate is misguided as well as great tips on humane ways to keep cats away from nesting sites.
Our Cats and the Environment resource has some great information on why blaming cats does not get to the root of the problem of declining bird populations. In addition, our new Save the Birds website has a great video and materials to help cat advocates spread the word on why people, not cats are the biggest threat to birds. I'd be happy to send you any materials you think may be helpful in this situation.
I, also, wanted to share our information on Humane Deterrents. If this community member is worried about the cats around certain important nesting sites, then investing in humane deterrents may be a great way to help cats and bird coexist. In particular, we have had very good reports on the CatStop. This ultrasonic deterrent is motion activated and emits a high frequency sound that people (and birds) cannot hear and cats do not like. Over time cats learn that the area covered by the CatStop isn’t nice to be in, so they stop coming around at all!
I hope this information is helpful and, please, let me know if you need further assistance with this situation.
Thank you, again, for helping cats in your community,
Kylie Hogan
National Cat Help Desk Specialist
7920 Norfolk Avenue, Suite 600
Bethesda, MD 20814
Office: 240-482-3882
Fax: 240-482-1990
www.alleycat.org
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